How to Earn the Highest Grades You Can

Webinar Transcription

2023-03-02 – How to Earn the Highest Grades You Can

Anesha: Hi, everyone, and welcome to tonight’s webinar. My name is Anesha Grant. I’m a senior advisor, CollegeAdvisor, and I will be your moderator today. Today’s webinar is, “How to Earn the Highest Grades You Can.” Before we get started, I just want to orient everyone with the webinar timing. Our presenter will share some tips, resources and guidance, and then we will open up the floor to respond to your questions in a live Q& A.

On the sidebar, you can download our slides under the handout section. So you can start submitting your questions whenever you get ready in the Q and a tab. Now, let’s meet our presenter, Katie. Hi, Katie. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Katie: Hi, everyone. I’m Katie. I am currently a second slash third year medical student.

I was a part of the Brown BSMD program. And so that’s kind of my background. I’ve been working with CollegeAdvisor for a while now, but also in college admissions for I think five, six years at this point. So happy to be talking to you all tonight.

Anesha: Awesome. Thanks, Katie. We’re gonna, before we open up the floor to Katie, we just want to do a quick poll.

So let us know what grade level you’re in. You can go be 8th grade, 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade, or other if you are a parent or younger than that. And as we’re waiting, Katie, was there, what was your favorite class in high school? Ooh,

Katie: um, I would have to say 8th grade. either between like an English class or a psychology class.

I think those were a lot of fun. Um, and I think we had a lot of fun in the classes frequently.

Anesha: Yeah, I definitely could say AP psychology was up there and I didn’t take this class, but my my high school had a class called like Shakespeare performance. And so they only read Shakespeare. But every, they had to perform everything.

So, um, the whole class was just like standing up in the middle and pretending to be Romeo or Juliet or who have you, um, and a variety of things. So there’s some, there’s some cool high school classes. Oh goodness. I remember

Katie: that. I think in my English class too, we did not, I think it was like to Cameron.

We’re really, yeah, there’s like classics. We have like these plays to do, but they, a lot of them are like, they have interesting themes in them. Certainly.

Anesha: Teaching is, you know, spicing it up, which is fun. Um, all right, we’ll go ahead and close our poll and I’ll just let you know for your sake, Katie, that the majority of folks are in 11th grade.

So we have 32 percent in the 11th grade, 30 percent in the 10th grade and about 19 percent in the 9th grade and then a handful of seniors in 8th grade. So, um, I think targeting for early high school would be thoughtful as you move forward in your presentation. I’ll go off camera, off mic, hand it over to you, and I’ll be back for our next poll.

Katie: Sounds good. All right, everyone, feel free to put questions in the chat as they come up, but today we’re talking about earning or getting good grades, which I’m fully aware, having made it through high school and now medical school, it’s, you know, it’s, it’s important to get good grades. And it’s also one of those things that I think everyone sort of talks about as like an expectation at a base and no one really kind of addresses.

What it means to get good grades and also kind of what you have to give up sometimes in order to get the grades that people were asking you to get. Um, so what are some of those factors that make it difficult? I think kind of going off of that is taking tougher classes. So, for those of you who are in early high school, those of you who are juniors looking to senior year, right?

You’re probably looking at taking. more AP, IB, whatever form of like honors that your high school has more so than before. Um, I guess in general, I think those classes, because they are college level classes are going to be a lot tougher. They’re going to move a lot faster and teachers will have a higher expectation of you.

Um, I know there’s frequently, it’s something that people talk about is like high school teachers being like, this is what college professors will want from you. And, um, whether that’s true or not of, of your college experience, Um, I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m going to have that experience in the future.

Hopefully, um, what I will say is that teachers do tend to, you know, there are tougher in high school in their middle school, certainly, and depending on what school you go to and what teacher you have, right, there can be more busy work. They can be more homework. And when I say busy work, I don’t mean, like, necessarily to put it down.

It’s more like, oh, you know, if a teacher signs like 50 math problems, for example, versus, um, my math teacher, I think, never assigned us homework. Same thing with physics. He assigned us, like, Five questions for the entire like two weeks, and it was more like figure out how to study on your own. I’m not going to assign the homework.

I’m not going to check over it. So I think different teachers really have a different philosophy when it comes to approaching school work, and it’s really important to think about that. I think the other factor that makes it difficult is definitely Balancing extracurriculars, right? I think, um, if you attend other webinars from CollegeAdvisor, you’ll see a lot of advice that I’ve given, other people have given, talking about, you know, how to build up a good resume to apply to college, um, what are the things that colleges look for, and that’s kind of a little bit we’re addressing today, um, but also just like keeping in mind, and I’m keeping in mind, certainly, back of my head that a lot of you will be having to balance extracurriculars, jobs, taking care of family, a lot of these extra things that people, um, don’t talk about when they’re talking about getting good grades when it really does take up a large amount of your time.

Um, okay, so what are the most important things to do? Um, I would say, obviously, starting with balancing your time, right? So you want to make sure you’re hanging out with friends, but you’re also studying, but you’re also doing extracurriculars. There’s a lot in a high schooler’s day. Um, and now that I’m in medical school, I would say it’s pretty similar.

To be honest, we have an expectation that, you know, we have to do extracurriculars. I obviously want to hang out with my friends. I just study a lot. And so, I feel very similarly actually in terms of like the stress of having to balance all those things and keep them all in line. And so the most important thing I would say is prioritizing.

And like I said on the slide, like I am brutally honest as far as like as a, as a CollegeAdvisor. And some of the things that I will say is there are some classes that are going to be easier. There are some teachers that, you know, are going to cut you some more slack. And those are the classes like I don’t not take advantage of, but like certainly You know, sign up for those classes if you feel like that could be a good balance for your schedule.

So if you know, for example, that your history teacher is really, really tough at your high school and your English teacher is a little bit more chill, more laid back, right? Like it’s more about like reading the, reading the stuff and not so much about like quizzes, for example, you might want to think about balancing those two things when you’re looking forward to creating a class schedule, figuring out how to balance that.

I frequently also tell high schoolers, maybe don’t take any of the Um, and if you’re going to be taking like two stems to stem AP class at the same time, that could be really tough and really stressful. I use a good man like, oh, you’re gonna take a math, take a science, but if you’re going to be taking a math assigned in another science, that’s where things get a little bit tougher and a lot to balance.

And I certainly heard of students who did that and totally succeeded. But I can speak for myself and said that would have been really tough for me. Um, also know what your strengths and weaknesses are, right? Like if you find that English comes really easy to you or math comes really easy to you. Take advantage of that, right?

Like take the hard classes, but know that those are in your back pocket as terms of like in terms of like, oh, these are gonna be my relaxing classes. These are new classes that I don’t have to work like I’m fighting a battle for these and I can spend more that time focusing, for example, on the AP chemistry class that I’m really struggling with.

Final thing, learn how your teachers assess your knowledge. Um, I think this is a too frequently offered, not offered as a tip slash it’s very unclear how we’re supposed to do this. And I would say this is like something that has carried me through all the way to med school in terms of being important for getting good grades is what is it that the professor or the teacher kind of seems to, like, gravitate towards when they’re talking in class.

What is the style of, of their tests? And then based on the style, how are you going to study for it? So, for example, one of my history teachers, our tests were in the form of, like, it would be, like, a phrase, and then you had to remember what person or what time period or, you know, what war it was, for example, in history.

Um, and so a lot of that was, like, me having to memorize, to be honest. So I did a lot of flash carding for that. Um, I would never have done flashcards for pretty much any other class, but that’s what that particular test required. Um, another example I have, like, very recently I took an exam on the gastrointestinal system and, um, the person who was writing the test I knew was kind of an older doctor, a little bit more Like invested in kind of the old way in the history of medications for GI, for example.

And so I knew that that was something that he was going to emphasize more as an older doctor versus like a newer doctor, for example, might, uh, or they might even tell you I’m writing this test to your board exam. So I might study the way I was studying for something else. So really thinking through, like, you know, feeling out a teacher is really, really important.

And I can’t emphasize that enough. Um, a physics teacher, for example, I had a physics teacher who, um, Was like very much about the concepts and understanding like applying the concepts on the spot critical thinking so I would study a little bit more of that stuff rather than you know, or I would do a lot of problems really to get as much exposure as possible rather than just drive them rising equations.

I mean, like, yeah, that’s good enough. Um, so that’s kind of an important part of getting good grades.

Okay, if you’re struggling, what should you do? First thing, always ask for help, right? I think that’s the biggest thing that we can do when we are having a hard time in our classes and I know that can be very stressful. Um, so reach out to teachers first, see if they have any particular study tips or materials.

I think teachers in general tend to be more receptive than people expect a lot of times to that kind of help. And who knows, like that might actually serve you for the better, right? This teacher was getting stuck in class. Getting to know you on a more personal level. They’re trying to understand your personality, how you think that could all be stuff that plays into, you know, maybe future like recommendations and stuff like that.

So all of these things, like really being a person and, you know, being present in a classroom, I think, and you can do a lot for your application outside of just your grades. Um, peer tutoring. Um, this is something that I certainly took advantage of when I was in chemistry, for example, really did not like chemistry.

They struggled with it and definitely found that people who were, Um, I think that the students who just like recently learned it, they were able to explain the concepts in a much simpler way, for example, than someone who was like a P. H. D. I don’t know. And then topic right? Sometimes I was like, I have no clue what you’re talking about, but the student is simplifying it for me.

That can really help. Um, tutoring in general, if you can, you know if you could access it, there are sometimes scholarships, financial aid for tutoring, cheap tutoring online. Um, figure out if there are ways that you could access tutoring potentially if you’re really, really struggling in a subject, for example, and I put in a personal story here because I think it helps for people to hear.

Um, you know, I guess like someone on the other end of things, like I went to an Ivy League school, I got a really good GPA, um, I’m currently at med school, but I also really struggled in high school. Um, I remember my AP Physics 3 class, I, at some point in the semester, I went as low as, I think I had a C at some point, I had like a 74 percent or something, um, and I ended up raising it to an A.

But it was certainly something that I was like very, very stressed about struggling a lot with and the ways that I really figured that out was first. First of all, I talked to teachers. Um, I got some tutoring and, uh, like some peer tutoring. And then I think finally, what really worked out for me was just figuring out what I was doing wrong in terms of how I was studying.

Um, what was I like not getting correct? What was I like my study method? Why was it not preparing me well for these exams? Because these exams were some of the hardest exams I had ever taken at that point in my life. Um, and then I think on top of that, um, figuring out what I was good at when I was bad at.

So I remember in the beginning of physics, like I think I was doing like electricity. I was really bad at electricity and magnetism. Like that was just not my strength. Those were just like imaginary concepts to me. Um, but then when we got really down to like, Um, I’m going to work extra hard here so I can raise my grade and also always ask if there are extra credit opportunities.

Um, I found that that’s raised a lot of mine and my classmates grades certainly to like, you know, with a low a and that’s that’s been really, really helpful for me. Okay, how can students balance getting good grades with taking challenging classes? Now I think this is really the question that a lot of you should be thinking about wherever you are in your high school journey.

Um. Really want to be balancing taking what I call easy, challenging classes with hard, challenging classes. So, for example, AP to succeed at my school was an example of like a hard, challenging class, really struggled with it. But AP psychology at my school was not as difficult. It was really much more of like, if you learn the material, you’re going to be okay.

Like, pretty chill. You do the homework. You’re good. Um, and also I think it was just, it was just a stronger subject for me to be perfectly honest. And so balancing, right? Like the, they both are APs. They both look and count for the same amount of boost for your GPA when it comes to your transcript. But you know, personally, for yourself, that you are taking some time to make sure that, you know, you’re taking care of yourself, you know, that you’re gonna, not you know, completely burnt out from taking only tough classes.

Um, and so that’s, I used AP because that’s what I had at my school, but the same applies to really any like IBE honors, like whatever the equivalent at your school is, um, and that can be like, not even AP, it can just be like, you know, this teacher is going to be hard for you. This teacher is going to be easy from upperclassmen.

Make use of that. Um, So that’s kind of how I start with in terms of balancing taking those challenging classes. I will say in terms of how colleges look at it, we really think of it as, are you taking the most challenging coursework that’s available at your high school? So let’s say you have no AP’s available whatsoever at your high school, don’t sweat it.

That’s totally fine. And colleges take that into account when they’re comparing your GPA to other GPAs, right? It’s, it’s more about what, like what opportunities you have and how much of the opportunity are you taking upon yourself. So if your school offers a lot of AP’s, and that may be something that you want to take advantage of.

Um, you, you might want to do more AP’s, especially if you want to go into STEM or you want to go into humanities, like do more AP’s in those sectors to show your interest in it. Uh, and also to show that you were able to survive at a college level sort of rigor.

Anesha: Oh, okay.

Sure, yeah. Just want to give you a bit of a break in the middle. Um, so yeah, we have our next poll. If you folks can tell us, where are you in your process? So given all the ideas shared, are you getting started? Are you researching schools? How do you want to apply some of this context? I’m assuming some folks haven’t started yet and that’s okay if you’re still thinking about how to get your, uh, grades organized and up to date.

I appreciate you sharing the, um, anecdote around just like your own personal struggles and kind of recovering, um, from, you know, challenges in high school. And I do appreciate the advice that you gave of like being strategic about how things, about how to navigate the semester. I have a couple of students like that right now, who’s like, okay, I got to buckle down this semester.

quarter because this quarter was a little bit more challenging. Got to make sure and then preparing for how the next quarter will kind of impact their GPA. So yeah, I think, and I think that’s also a helpful tool in college as well. I’m not sure if you’ve had that experience of trying to figure out how much, what’s the percentage of things towards your, your grade and, and kind of gaming the syllabus in that way.

So. A lot of really helpful context for high school, and then also some tricks to take with you into college as well. Okay, we will go ahead and close our poll. I think we got the majority of responses in. So, a lot of folks are researching schools, and so I think we already have gotten some questions around, like, what do I need to, what GPA do I need to be competitive?

So that makes sense in the researching stage. A few, a few folks have not started and that’s totally okay. About 6 percent are working on essays and the other two are wrapping up or, um, have already submitted. So yeah, I think a lot of folks are in the researching, researching phase.

Katie: Okay. So I think this question is a little bit geared more towards people who are like freshmen or sophomores in high school, but here, like, what are some new challenges that really get in the way of academic success? Um, I would say, At least at my school and I can say like at a lot of schools actually they kind of try to ease you in So freshman year they’re like, oh you can maybe take a max of one AP or two AP’s I don’t know whatever it is or like a max of these tough classes But they really try to like force a balance upon you by doing that limit so you don’t go all in And then when you get to sophomore junior year sometimes and I think a lot of people have this like ramp up a lot more In terms of what classes they’re taking Um, taking much harder classes, right?

You could end up in like, especially like the chemistry, physics, biology ends up in those years, you’ve been taking harder math, um, and so those are things that I think can make sophomore, junior, senior year a lot harder because of that ramp up, um, taking a lot harder coursework, and it’s a very steep incline.

Um, and so the other thing I think that’s Difficult about this time is also you’re getting more and more stressed about college as it’s coming up, right? College applications So it’s really important that you’re thinking in that summer the sophomore summer and junior summer, especially about programs, right?

Internships like doing work over the summer hobbies like building of extracurriculars And then I think also, I mean, at least for me, I can definitely say, like, it definitely weighed on my mind, um, on top of, like, having to do the studying and the day to day extracurriculars, I was like, oh my gosh, I also have to think about the summer, and I have to pull these things together, and when do I start writing essays, and so, I think those are all, you know, very real challenges that happen, and I, I would say, like, I always tell students, Um, so I think it’s really important to try to do your best to prioritize school and where you can because that at the end of the day, grades are really important, especially with like the question of like, Oh, what about the S.A.T. And the A.C.T. And some schools are going, you know, more test optional, and so these days, I think, and even before, like, more and more, I’m like, you know, Do what you need to do for school, because you need, you need to do well at school. You should prioritize your learning. And then all those other things will slowly fall into place as they need to.

What gets easier about those years? I would say getting the hang of high school, like put simply, right? It’s like you have friends now. You, you know, generally know how, how things work, how signing up for classes work, the extracurriculars, you probably, you know, gotten them with a group of friends. So it’s a lot easier, I think, at least to survive high school when, you know, you were like comfortable in the space.

You’re not trying to make new friends. You’re not trying to meet new people anymore. Um, and so that makes life a lot easier, I think. Okay. So what was exciting, satisfying about my academic journey in high school? That was a really interesting question because I feel like it was, I’m like, Oh God, it was so far away.

And when it really, really wasn’t that far away. Um, But I think what’s exciting is being able to learn kind of about a whole array of subjects, and also having a little bit more choice in terms of what you’re learning, right? Like, back in the day, and like, you know, before that, you’re like, oh, I have to learn art sciences.

Like, I have to learn this sector of biology about photosynthesis. But now you sort of have a little bit more freedom, and you will find that as you go along in your educational journey, like in college, for example, you’ll get even more freedom. And that’s kind of what I would encourage students to take advantage of that freedom.

So, you know, whether that’s like choosing electives that are exciting to you, like theater, for example, or pottery, or like even, I don’t know, there’s like, there’s like some interesting ones out there that are like specifically like gender. Um, you know, you’re gonna learn a lot of things that you’re not gonna learn in science or something like that.

Um, so take advantage of that. And you know, make make use of that. You’ll also be learning about a lot of different things that I think will be useful for you later on. So these are all essential building blocks. Um, if you learn chemistry, well, now you’re going to do better in chemistry. If you decide to take it in college, you’re gonna do better in chemistry even after that.

Um, and so it’s definitely some of those things where I still think back sometimes, honestly, to like AP psychology, AP physics, AP biology, some of those like basic principles. I. Was expected to learn them in high school, and I’m expected to have learned them in high school in the past, and so I’m not taught that anymore.

So it’s really important that you focus on your, you know, when you’re taking classes, that you’re, you’re learning the concepts, because I promise, they will come back later. Not maybe every concept, I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s like every single thing’s gonna be important, but certainly there are some concepts, especially depending on what field you want to go into.

Um, second thing I would say, and this is like a huge, I cannot emphasize this enough, learning how to study, As a medical student now where I study for a majority of my day, if I’m being totally honest, I’m realizing more and more how important it is to learn how to study early on. And I wish I had done even more than I did in high school, to be totally honest.

Um, like nowadays I’m like, Oh, I didn’t realize that. I, for example, I can be really inefficient when I’m studying. I’ll be like on my phone. I’ll be texting. I’ll be looking at other things and I’m like, okay, I need to figure out how to block out time for myself. I also need to figure out how I learn, right?

So some people learn really well, for example, auditorily. So they go to a lecture and they’re like, Ah, yes, I understand that completely. Me, no. Like I can’t listen to something and be like, Oh, yes, I, the words are entering my brain. The words are not there. Um, I need to look at concepts. I need to look at diagrams.

And so frequently that’s how I do things. Like nowadays I’m like learning as I go. That if I go through a chapter in a book, if I have a visual of it, I can remember where it was in the book, for example, and that way I can reference back to it in my brain. Um, so those are different things where I think it’s really, really important to learn early on in high school.

I promise you it will come back and be helpful in the future. Um, there’s a huge benefit in learning how you personally study the best.

What advice would I give to students starting high school who want the best grades they can? Uh, pay attention to your strengths and weaknesses. I think this is incredibly important. So kind of going back to how do you study, right? In terms of the study method. But also like what subjects are your strengths and weaknesses?

Um, I think one, um, thing that I if I could go back to high school and do better, I think I would have pushed myself way harder in English and the humanities to see like, you know, where, where did my does my level of like ability go to at that point, like, you know, push myself in terms of exploring a little bit more outside of the box outside of what just my classmates were doing.

I will say that I think I did a little bit of that in terms of extracurriculars, like kind of figuring out what I liked, what about what I, like, what is it about the things that I liked that I liked, like what was meaningful about it, what gave me joy out of a lot of those things that I was doing, and that includes studying, and that includes, like, all the things that you’re doing in high school.

I remember, like, I thought I loved biology, and I, you know, I’m in middle school, but, you know, I thought I loved biology, and I kind of found out later, like, what I really loved Um, and I really love like to be honest, to be honest, teaching biology like I really love kind of being able to teach and explain concepts of their people.

Um and so figuring out those strengths and weaknesses for you, and then you’ll find out like later in the future like me now, right? I find that if I can teach something to someone, um, I know it much better. And also if they ask me questions, I’m like, I actually don’t know that it really helps for me to poke holes in my in my knowledge.

Um, second thing grades are not the only factor in college admissions. I want to make sure I emphasize this, and I know that’s going to be in the Q and a little bit later in terms of. What can I do to get into a Ivy League school? I think there are some important key things I wanted to highlight here.

One was that grades are not the only factor. Um, you also have standardized test scores. You have extracurriculars. You have essays. Those are incredibly important things to work on if you’re, especially if you’re applying to, you know, a pretty competitive school. And, I mean, that’s primarily what I work on as a CollegeAdvisor.

And so those are things that I really cannot emphasize enough. Show kind of the whole picture of who someone is and I kind of provide examples of this I know I definitely had a couple of classmates who had GPA’s that we were like, oh, I don’t like we you know We knew that there was gonna be a reach for them to get into a top tier university And I know that their essays and kind of recommendations and stuff brought them up and they were actually able to go to a really Great liberal arts school, for example So those are things outside of grades that can help you Um also on top of that You Something that I actually learned like through the grapevine was that admissions officers are assigned to your local area.

So for example, someone presumably, I was in California, so big state, but someone was presumably assigned to like my district, like small area of my district even. who actually knew my high school. And at the time, we had a really, really intense and tough history teacher, AP Euro, um, and apparently admissions officers like knew about him.

And they knew that if students who otherwise had really good grades, you know, got a really bad grade in that one class, um, Maybe it could, it could have been a fluke for one thing, but also they’re like, Oh, we, we are aware that this teacher is a tougher teacher and maybe the way they tested things was not conducive to this particular student.

So I remember one of my classmates who was older than me actually had, I think, like, nearly straight A’s, um, and ended up actually getting a C in that one history class. And, you know, they were, everyone’s always like, Oh my God, if you get a C, like your chances at an Ivy league university are ruined. Um, she went to Harvard and she graduated from Harvard, I think like two years ago, two years ago, I think, yeah, three years ago, maybe.

Um, And so it’s definitely something that’s like, don’t, don’t think of it as like, this is the end of the world. Um, I want you to keep pushing on and know that there are other factors that are involved and the people reading your application are also people and so they can kind of understand if you have things going on.

Thanks

Anesha: so much, Katie. Um, that is the end of our presentation component. Uh, we will move into our Q& Seen some questions. Are they floating in? Um, just so that you know, you can download all of Katie’s advice and slides under the handouts tab. Um, the way that the q and a will work is that I will read the questions aloud and then, uh, give Katie an opportunity to respond to them.

As a heads up, if you’re not seeing the q and a tab, you may have to log out, log back in to make sure you’re logging in through the link via your email. Um, so we’ll get started staying on the topic of advice that you would give. So, well, a few folks asked for time management practices. So how, you know, what is any advice or tips you would give on how to build, um, time management skills and, and kind of balancing, especially as classes become more rigorous and adding in SATs and college research into the mix?

Katie: Yeah, I think that’s a really good question. And, um, I think part of it might be also figuring out establishing, what kind of person you are. So some people really like schedules, for example. Um, and so blocking out what you’re doing at a certain time can be really helpful. I know for me, I’m in a particular study period of med school and I, you know, I like literally yesterday, I didn’t assign myself any tasks.

I got nothing done. Um, tomorrow I will sign something myself. Like, you know, I’m going to cover specifically this topic. I will get that done. And so that can be part of another part can be figuring out, you know, where You can cut down time and I, this sounds really depressing a little bit, but I remember I used to like eat sometimes on my commute home when my mom was able to pick me up and drive me and that kind of take me a little bit of time, um, or I would eat while I was like, you know, in the extracurricular and I was involved so that I could just like eat and also be present at something.

Um, other things. I would definitely say, Figuring out how to make how to help yourself focus. Um, so I know a lot of folks Um, you know, we get distracted very easily by our phones And I remember one thing my mom always said was like put your phone in the other room I never did it and now that i’m in medical school and i’m like I have to do it myself I have to force myself into it.

Um, so i’ll like I get that little app called like forest and you grow a tree and if you use your phone the tree dies and then you get really sad so you know you don’t pull the tree and you don’t touch your phone um for example or um what are some other things oh i saw something i just lost it um for folks who were like maybe like studying just makes you really anxious um you could block out time to like worry about things or like get like things that are on top of your mind done like writing it’s writing an email to a teacher that you’re really worried about for example Walk at a time to do that so that you can focus on setting when you need to study.

Um, look, I think some like top tips that I have in my brain.

Anesha: Yeah, you you let you bled into the next question, which is how do I get good study habits? Um, and so I think the time management habits were aligned with. Just giving yourself time to sit in and navigate your way through some of the classes. So we have had the question and you got it this a little bit in your, um, final piece of advice.

But someone’s talking about having a C in a class. Um, if you could dive a little bit deeper into, you know, How might folks mitigate having some C’s on their applications, um, if they are there in order to not, I guess, feel like hope is lost if they got that one C in the

Katie: class. Yeah, that’s, I mean, and I understand that, I think, especially when you’re hearing, um, you know, I think there’s a lot of toxic, like, rhetoric, especially on, like, some of those, like, college admissions websites.

People are like, you’ll never get in with, like, those. Like, like those debts or whatever, and it can get very toxic. And my advice really is just not not view any of those things, like, just cut yourself off from that. Um, and so that’s one step to helping yourself out for a little bit. It’s not feel so hopeless.

Um, I think another thing is that people don’t realize is on the common application. There’s actually a spot. spot where you can actually write some dedicated information about if you had like a really big dip in your grades, let’s say sophomore year, if you had something else going on in your life, like there’s a space for that.

And there’s a space for you to actually clarify a little bit about, you know, what was going on in your life. One of my students, I remember, for example, had like a major eye surgery. And, um, her math grade really dipped that semester. And, you know, I was like, you had eye surgery. You also couldn’t see for a little bit.

And so, you know, her, she was talking about how she was struggling to catch up and how she really reached out for help during that. And she ultimately, I think, brought her grade like from a C to a B, for example, or B minus. And I think that’s still like a notable story to tell, right? There’s a space for you to tell that story.

And I think that’s important for folks to realize. Um, I think the other thing is going to be, yeah, I mean, Like again, like I think getting one or two C’s, like there are other ways to show that you are great at what you do and what you’re interested in. And sometimes we struggle with things that we’re not so interested in, slash not so great in, um, a subject style or maybe our weaknesses.

And I think that’s okay. And I think being able to communicate that well in the rest of your application, I think can work out well for you.

Anesha: Thank you. Um, so sticking with, I guess, study tips and study advice and like mitigating low grades. One person asked, what is the best way to pull up a grade quickly by the end of the semester?

So, how can, if they’re struggling and another, another student asks, they’re trying, they’re going to tutoring, they’re going to help, they’re going to, you know, office hours, but they’re not seeing the impact. So, what advice or guidance that you have on like, how to try to knock that GPA up if it’s coming down to the end of the year?

Thank you.

Katie: Yeah, yeah, and I feel that I remember feeling that way pretty like I’m just during college for example I was like, oh god, I don’t know if this is working out. Like i’m doing my best i’m getting tutoring I went to office hours. What am I doing wrong? And to be totally honest Sometimes the tips that other people give you are geared towards what works for them.

And, and so some of it might just be like looking really in deep at your own study habits and figuring out if there’s something that you can do a massive recall there of figuring out how to do. Alternatively, just like examining old tests and being like, where did I go wrong in this? Like, is it because I doubted myself and I changed my answers?

Is it because I’m reading the questions wrong and I’m misinterpreting them? Is it because I’m not getting a good enough conceptual grasp of things that they’re asking? Um, so those are some I think like going over your mistakes and figuring out what you did wrong and why you did them wrong I think is really helpful especially if you’re at the end and you’re kind of feeling A little bit more like oh my god, I need to do something really bad and I need to change it right now Um, the other thing is asking teachers for extra credit Um, I know some teachers are not super helpful in that but in general most high school teachers are aware that like The great that you need good grades for college and they want you to succeed.

And so a lot of them might offer a little bit of extra credit at the end of the semester. And those can really, really boost your grade up, especially if you’re at, like, the border. And so what I would say is, like, talk to your teacher. Let’s say you’re at the border between, like, a C and a B. Do your best to get yourself up to, like, that 78, even.

And talking to the teacher, making sure they know that you’re working really hard. And sometimes, honestly, they will round up your grade.

Anesha: Yeah, I mean, I think even communicating it when teachers can see the effort. Yeah, exactly. They may not give you an extra credit. They’re just like, you know, maybe this 85 is an 87 now, um, or things like that.

Uh, um, one question. So I’m going to ask a few questions related to the AP, um, as we got a few, we got several. So the first one is, are AUPE slash honors classes weighed more in your GPA?

Katie: Yes, that’s a great question. So, um, I first want to start that every single college calculates GPA differently and for themselves.

So for example, me applying to a UC school, I had a completely different GPA from when I applied to, um, like Brown, for example. So the first thing is that, yes, AP’s typically do raise your, or like it’s called a weighted GPA. So theoretically, A B in an AP class counts for the same as an A in a regular class, theoretically.

Now, the other thing is that with honors classes, I think that’s a tougher situation. So, in some states, honors classes count for a little bit of weight. So in California, for example, my honors classes would have counted for 0. 5 weight. But if I apply to schools that are not UC’s or outside of the state, the honors classes are considered the same as regular classes.

So that’s honestly, like, that’s typically how I’d approach it. I would approach it as AP’s give me a weighted GPA, honors classes do not give me a weighted GPA is kind of how I simplify it in my brain. And then if you do get that boost from honors GPA, like from the honors weight, then like, yay for you.

But, um, most schools do not count honors. And so, uh, the, the AP’s are the weighted ones.

Anesha: Um, and then, uh, question of what’s your advice on AP courses versus dual enrollment? Are they viewed the same way in college admissions?

Katie: Oh, that’s a really good question. That’s something that I think I’ve been asked a lot.

Um, I would personally, and this is kind of different for everyone. I always feel like dual enrollment classes were tougher for me, but then I was talking to other people and some people were like, no way, the AP courses were way harder. Um, so what I would say is, Um, they’re they’re viewed pretty similarly.

I would say the AP gives you the boost in terms of your internal school GPA versus a dual enrollment. Sometimes that weight does not transfer to your like in school GPA. So if you’re shooting for like valedictorian, salutatorian, whatever, like in terms of the ranking of your school, if your school does even ranking at all, um, then the AP courses will probably make a bigger difference in terms of that ranking.

Then the dual enrollment sometimes because most a lot of high schools, I think don’t count the dual enrollment as like a weighted class that being said if you’re being dual enrolled, let’s say in like Like I know some like really like math geniuses were doing like linear algebra in high school, right?

And so they’re like that clearly you’re showing a lot of interest in in math. So i’m like, yeah, like That dual enrollment, I’m like, wow, like you’re really going above and beyond or like computer science or like whatever you’re doing dual enrollment in. Um, so it’s more of a way, I think, to show like you’re really invested and that you’re also doing pretty well, like you’re on like literally a college level, um, in a subject for, for colleges.

Anesha: I would also say I think it might depend on what’s available at your school. There are some schools, surprisingly, where there are no AP classes because they have a partnership with the local community college, so it’s only the enrollment. Oh, true. Yeah, exactly. I would take colleges want to see that you’re taking The most rigorous curriculum available to you.

So if there are no AP’s and you’re taking dual enrollment, great. If there are no dual enrollment and you’re taking AP’s or you’re taking honors classes, take the most challenging classes that are available to you. Colleges are going to evaluate you within the scope of what’s available in your high school.

So I just want to also keep that in mind. They’re not necessarily comparing if you have access to both. They just want to know you’re trying your best. Um, another AP question and then we’ll move on to a different topic. Uh, would you recommend taking AP classes during your senior year or not taking them because you want senior year to be easier?

Katie: I would say if you are someone who’s like clearly showing that you’re taking APs in your, in your sophomore, junior year, right? Or like you’re, you’re working hard. I would definitely, definitely, definitely take AP’s in your senior year because colleges will see your transcript from senior year. Um, and certainly, for most, depending on when you apply, but for every decision, they would also see your first semester senior year classes.

Now, that being said, I will, I, like I said, I will be honest, like a lot of times, senioritis does set in second semester, senior year, even towards the end of first semester, and, and that’s okay. Um, just I think it’s important to show that you are still invested in those classes, and you’re still, you know, you’re still taking advanced classes.

Um, and then whether or not you take the AP or test or not is going to be up to your high school and your college and you talking to them about credits and stuff like that.

Anesha: One more AP question, because this is kind of interesting, but what do you recommend if someone is taking all AP, IB classes, but their overall GPA is low?

Like around a 3. 0, how, how does that balance out for them?

Katie: Yeah, that can be, I know that can be like something to, like, people feel really stressed about. Um, so like I said before, technically an A and an AP class counts for the, sorry, a B and an AP class counts for the same as an A in a regular class. So once it’s weighted, um, your GPA, You know, we’ll, we’ll go up from that 3.0. Um, in fact, I don’t want to do the math right now, but like, so your GPA will go up. I think what’s more important is to one, I think, look at yourself and be like, how much are these AP slash IBS taking out of me? Like, is it really taking so much out of me that I should probably get honors or a regular class just to preserve a little bit of my sanity in some places, right?

You don’t need to drop everything, but maybe like one or two classes, or you do an elective instead, right? To kind of balance out how you’re. how you’re doing. Um, the second thing I would say is to look at your classmates, like how are they doing in terms of grades? Because at the end of the day, like you are really like you are against the backdrop of your high school, you know, how are many students?

And so they’re kind of going to be kind of like comparing you with your classmates in terms of like what the grade they’re looking like. Um, so keep that in mind as well.

Anesha: I’m going to take a moment and just do a quick PSA for folks in the room who are not currently working with us. You all have a lot of interesting and very specific and personal questions in the Q& A, and so we would encourage you to connect with us and our team of over 300 former admissions officers.

Um, and admissions experts, who are prepared to help you and your families navigate the process of one on one advising sessions. You can take the next step and sign up for a free 45 to 60 minute strategy session with an admissions specialist on our team by using the QR code that is on the screen during that meeting.

We’ll talk about extracurriculars, we’ll talk about your class lists, your college list and outlines and tools that you’ll need to stand out in a competitive admissions world So we’ll keep that QR code up there for those folks who might be interested in signing up for those one on one sessions and keep moving forward with the, um, Q and A.

I got some interesting kind of personal questions, not like overly personal, but, um, I thought they were interesting, uh, different, different speed than the APs. So one student asks, how do you manage pre exam stress and the urge to overstudy?

Katie: Yeah, that’s a very good question. And. I will say, like, depending on what field you go into, but certainly in my field, exams follow me seemingly until the end of time.

I’m currently studying for an exam. Um, and I’m almost always currently studying for an exam. And so, how do you manage those jitters? I think one thing I like to do is to have, like, a really nice routine. Um, I was never a superstitious person, but I remember I watched my roommate and she was a little bit more superstitious.

And I was kind of like, I can see how that works. Like release of anxiety and so for me that’s something I actually implemented So for example the night before I’ll have a certain time that I want to go to bed by and I will commit to that Time so I know sometimes people feel like the need like oh, I should I need to stay up and cram Um, I would say like, you know, if you set yourself like you’re gonna sleep by 10 30 midnight, whatever it is, commit to that time and go to bed.

Um, something else I’d like to do is plan ahead for the last day before the exams. What is something that I want to make sure I get done? So typically for me, like our school releases like a review slide, for example, for the upcoming exam. So I’ll be like, okay, in my mind, I’m I want to do the review slide on that last day, and as long as I get that done, like, I’ll know that I, I completed a task that I set aside for that day, um, it’s going to be a nice review, it’s going to make me feel good, and then, you know, that’s that, so that way you don’t kind of overstress, like, Oh, I should have done this, I should have done this, I should have reviewed this, I should have looked at this, and then kind of add more onto your plate last minute, and then get really, you know, overly stressed about all the things that you didn’t get to cover, because inevitably, there are going to be things that you did not get to cover.

Um, that’s, that’s kind of just how learning goes. Um, but yeah, kind of having that set routine. Um, for some people, I know for the SATs, for example, that’s like a really big exam. Um, I remember when I took the SAT, I would eat the same meal before the SAT every time. So that way I knew that it was something that wouldn’t upset my stomach and also like would not make my stomach gurgle loudly during the exam.

And so it was like, it was like, I knew I’m going to, this is what’s going to happen. It’s going to help me feel a little bit less stressed for the day. Um, so that’s how that’s helpful.

Anesha: Um, and then again, somewhat personal question, but like, what were some classes that you took in high school that you feel are helping you currently in medical school?

Katie: Yeah. Um, so I would say I had a pretty intense physics class. like classes in high school, um, decent biology and then pretty good psychology. Um, so I’m currently, I’m thinking about going into psych, so psychology is really helping me a lot, but also a lot of those things come back again. Like you’d be surprised, like Freud has come back again.

Um, like Erickson’s, like children’s development stuff has come back again. I’m like, I learned this back in AP psych. Why do I have to re memorize this? But it comes back. Um, some very basic principles about like, Pressure and stuff like that. You learn physics comes back. Um, but I would say chemistry. I’ll be honest.

Like I was chemistry was never my strong suit. And so I probably should have learned it even more back then. That’s still coming back. And I know it’s still coming back because I don’t know it right now. And I’m like, I should have learned it better at high school. Um, so that all those things. Um, and I would say this is just like my personal plug.

Learn how to write as if you Best as you can in high school. I promise you it will serve you so well come college applications come You know graduate school applications come me and my residency applications It’s it’s like learn as much as you can learn how to write and practice writing and and figuring out what your style is Um, that’s my biggest point plug for like the essential skill of high school.

Anesha: Uh, I mean, my, my freshman year writing teacher in college still destroyed and decimated all of our essays. So I think, and I thought I was a pretty good writer. Oh my God. I just

Katie: feel like it’s a common story. Everyone’s always like freshman, freshman year writing seminar destroyed me, but it built me up to be a better writer.

And I’m like, that’s so true. Like that’s, yeah,

Anesha: definitely. Um, If you come in with an inflated ego, you will be deflated very quickly. Um, at least at least for some of some colleges and my college. Um, if you could talk a little bit about the balance between GPA, you’re saying like, you know, classes aren’t everything.

They’re obviously very important. But, um, So a student saying, you know, their GPA is lower than average and lower than the typical admitted group for a specific cause that they’re looking at, how do extracurriculars and essays and all these other things balance out? So if you could talk about how all the different application components are kind of weighed in and considered.

Katie: Yeah, I mean, I’m not like, I will not. Um, I would not lie and say that, like, grades are not important. They are. I would I think I typically think of it as like 30 percent grades, maybe now a little bit less SAT than it was before when I, when I was applying. So it’d be like 20 percent SAT, maybe even zero if it’s like, you know, like not even a test, like a test.

We don’t look at test kind of school. Um, and then I would say extracurriculars and essays make up a pretty good portion. I think, Yeah. I agree. Like essays I would I honestly I put this at like 30 percent extracurricular to like a 20 percent at least Um, so those are things that I think if you really show a particular passion for something specific and you’re able to communicate a little bit around Why that’s like something that you’re interested in why you you need to go to this college to explore that interest a little bit more I think that can really do well for a lot of students um, and like I said, I you kind of use the example when I classmates where I think he he had like a GPA that was You Well below what the average acceptance at that school was, um, and because, and partially because he took really, like, advanced class, like, he took almost, like, all APs, um, and, and struggled a lot more in some of those, um, especially, like, like, his English wasn’t his first language, but anyways, um, And he still ended up getting in, I think partially due to the way he was able to pull together the application.

And possibly also, you know, like I said, like you are able to explain grades sometimes. I wouldn’t always, this is something that you would talk to your CollegeAdvisor about certainly, because I don’t always say students should explain their grades. I feel like it’s not always the best option, but that’s also, you know, a part of the application as well.

Anesha: Um, this student is, well, okay. One, there are a couple of students asking questions regarding classes you took in middle school. Colleges are not going to look at any classes that you took In middle school, even if they were a high school level class that you took in middle school, then it’s great that you took that class when you were seventh and eighth grade, but colleges will only be looking at your grades in ninth, 10th and 11th grade.

Some of them will only look at your 10th and 11th grade classes. So do not stress about any class that you took, uh, even if it was a high school level class in middle school.

Katie: Um, yes, also like they do look at the trajectory as well. So maybe, you know, you struggled in freshman year. Um, a little bit more with your grades, but you’re kind of quick trickery went up.

That’s a great time. That’s what we love to see. So,

Anesha: but again, not looking at eighth grade. Yes, upper 10 is important. Not looking at eighth grade. Um, but what is it? So a student says they are taking notes in class and their teachers kind of going through very quickly. How should they try to advocate for themselves?

Um, if they’re it’s difficult for them to follow what’s happening in class, and I feel like that’s I wish you could speak to that in high school and then also kind of that advocacy that becomes important in college level classes as well.

Katie: Yeah, and I think I don’t I hate to put it this way, but I think no matter where you are in your education, you will come across teachers who are not great teachers, and you will also come across teachers who are fine teachers, but they don’t teach in your particular modality particularly well.

Like, they don’t teach you like your style of learning very well. Um, and. I think that is probably more common than you would expect. Like, I think everyone, nearly everyone will run into that issue, at least with having a teacher where you’re just like, I just think you’re not a great teacher, to be totally honest.

Or it’s like, oh, you do not teach to my style of learning. Um, and so, like, I hate to say, this is also in med school, it’s like now, or in college, When I needed to learn something and I was not getting it from the teacher, I just found outside resources to learn it. Like, believe you me, did I just learn a little bit about the kidney system from a guy on YouTube?

Absolutely, yes. And sometimes that guy on YouTube is a great, is really great at explaining concepts very simply in a way that maybe my professor was like, you know, he’s a little too high level And so I just did not understand what he was saying. And so I would say the biggest one is to look for outside resources that actually work for you.

And if that means watching like John Green, Hank Green on YouTube, like, go for it. Like, as long as you’re learning the way that you need to learn it. And sometimes that means like, I know you have to go to high school and you have to sit in classes. I don’t have to actually go to classes. I can stay at home and study how I want to study, unfortunately.

That’s one of the benefits of college and medical school. You get flexibility again, but for now I would think of it as make use of the resources that you have, especially with the internet, um, thankfully, and do your best to figure out how to study on your own time. And then during class, figure out a way to kind of try to make it as productive as possible.

And it’s okay if like you singing class is not doing it for you. That’s okay.

Anesha: Yeah, definitely. Don’t. Participate in class to the extent possible, because you also don’t want to, like, take your participation grade in class, but I love external resources. I think Crash Course, Khan Academy, all of those things, um, for the youth, the resources that I did not have available when I was in high school.

So absolutely take advantage of them. Um, uh, one question is, are certain subjects prioritized more than others? Should I be taking more science classes versus English classes?

Katie: Oh, okay. Um, in terms of like being weighted or not, no, like it’s only based on the kind of like the AP, the honor thing. Um, that being said, I know if you want to show, indicate like a strong interest, like maybe you want to be a computer science programmer.

Um, maybe you may want to make sure you’re taking some math and, and like other science classes to kind of indicate that you are interested in STEM. But outside of that, there’s, it’s not like it’s like viewed or weighted differently or anything like that.

Anesha: Um, and then going back to some AP questions. So do colleges like to see a lot of APs on your transcript?

Would they rather see a few? Um, and I think to this point of like, if you know, should you be taking classes that are targeted towards your potential major?

Katie: Um, okay, I think I think I understand most of the question. Um, so, sorry, so taking AP classes in in kind of your intended major, I think is a great idea.

And it’s okay if you don’t, if you don’t know what your intended major is, that’s also fine. Okay, like you do not have to know that yet. Um, but certainly if you feel you’re more drawn to stem or more drawn to, um, humanities, I would encourage you to seek out like, you know, the challenging courses in those sectors, I would say for pre med specifically, it’s really important to try to get in some AP chem and AP biology in there.

Um, the AP Chem, they really like to see, uh, because that’s one of the harder classes of the pre med lifestyle.

Anesha: I would also, I mean, separate from AP’s necessarily, but I would say if you’re interested in engineering or anything like that, it’s important that you definitely make sure you have physics, um, somewhere in your high school transcript.

And Calculus would also be a bonus. So, not stressed necessarily about AP’s, but making sure that there are certain classes you have taken. You’re going to put premed, making sure you do have biochemistry. AP bio, AP chem, uh, would obviously be beneficial. And then again, physics for sure. Uh, if you’re interested in any of the STEM or engineering fields, um, I think this is an interesting and timely question.

I feel like it might be coming from a senior or maybe someone who’s kind of been in the process for a little bit, but how do you deal with a lack of motivation when you’re just kind of feeling burnt out, um, and you’ve got all the stuff you need to do, but, uh, you’re just not, not feeling it.

Katie: Yeah. Um, I think we all feel that way.

Like even the best students, uh, feel burnt out sometimes. And I think it’s important to maybe take a step back and see if it’s like the way you’re studying, if it’s like maybe the material. And so maybe switching to like a material that’s more interesting to yourself. I think in high school, like one of the things that this is kind of random, I just thought of it like rejuvenating your That sounds weird, but we’re doing like your intellectual curiosity as weird as that sounds, but like, um, finding, I know it can be hard, especially if you’re taking like, let’s say, a couple of AP class or whatever it is, and you’re not like, you’re, you’re personally not super excited about that particular subject.

So figuring out if there are ways to still make things interesting to you. I remember in like my English class, um, my teacher was like really concerned because a lot of the class, like a lot of our classmates were like STEM people. So they’re like, Oh, I don’t want to do English. So we all read this, this, um, book about corpses and forensics and like that brought in like STEM chemistry into it.

And that was like one way, I think my teacher did a really good job of that, but like, uh, of bringing kind of back in like the excitement of like, Ooh, like this is kind of fun. And so like if you’re reading a lot of like Shakespeare plays in school and you don’t particularly Shakespeare, what do you enjoy reading?

Like, what are some things that you can still bring in like intellectual curiosity and excitement into your life? Um, I did that a lot in college, for example, I remember I read a lot of like anthro books that I found those really interesting. Um, and that kind of gave me a break away from my technique, like the chemistry course, for example, which I didn’t find as like intellectually stimulating.

Um, so kind of finding that curious bit. for yourself can be a great way to rejuvenate, not that I’m putting more work, but that’s one way.

Anesha: No, I love that. I love that idea of just like, sometimes you got to step away and do something that challenges your mind in a completely different way. I think, uh, within CollegeAdvisor, we often advise students to do passion projects and that’s a way to kind of keep your energy going and kind of recenter.

And I think that passion project also helps you remember, like, what is it you actually want to achieve in college? What’s the skill you want to build? What’s the thing you’re excited about doing? Um, that makes kind of college worth it. So stepping back from the work, I think a little bit, I had one student, um, uh, a meeting this week and she, have this great, all these great outcomes.

She did like a blood drive, had a health fair and everything was going well. And I was like, what are you going to do to take care of yourself? Because you’ve been doing all these great things for community. And she’s like, I told her she had to take a me day. She had to do something that she just, that wasn’t school related.

That wasn’t any of her extracurriculars and just take care of herself. And so I think sometimes as teenagers, you know, you may not always get that, that. I don’t know. Folks are always understanding that you need to also take those days to treat yourself. Um, so definitely stepping away from the work and thinking about the things that excite you or thinking about doing nothing and giving yourself some grace to do nothing on some of those days as well.

Um, uh, this is a question. I’m not sure if you’ll be able to answer it, but I’ll ask it and, you know, we can, uh, go back and forth on it if not. But does, um, homeschool lower your likelihood of being homeschooled lower your likelihood of getting into a good college?

Katie: Okay, I can’t like I I was not homeschooled personally, but my imagination is no because that would be unfair to folks Who are getting homeschooled?

um, I imagine as a homeschooler, you know, you have your set of curriculum and it’s again like going back to the Taking advantage of what opportunities are available to you. You’re taking advantages of like the homeschool kind of environment What are you getting from it? What are some interesting things that you can talk about even in your essays that the unique experience of being homeschooled?

What are like, maybe you have more time also to do outside like extracurriculars and passion projects. Um, that would still look really great on your applications. And I, so I think all of those things contribute to building a good school application much like anyone else.

Anesha: Yeah, I think, you know, I think you’re absolutely right.

I think the only thing is in homeschool, you have to give greater context to what you were learning and the con and and how you are learning it and what you are pursuing. I think sometimes homeschool students just are also tend to be a little bit more, um, what’s the word like trepidatious as they have to kind of figure out they’re crafting their, um, not trepidatious and entrepreneurial.

Sorry. Um, my words, uh, um, because you are figuring out and putting together your curriculum on your own. So, um, that would be my thought there. You are not, your chances are not lower. You just have to be Provide more context for your education. Um, so a few folks asked, I mentioned passion project. So I don’t know if you can tell, I can talk about it, but what is a passion project?

Katie: Yeah. Um, and I’m, I’m sure you can have a really good view. You’re still working with students on this actively, but I think of a passion project of like kind of a theme to your application. So I, the best way I can explain this is like, I use my example. So my, like, I worked at a suicide hotline when I was in high school and that was something that really brought me joy and also changed a lot of, you know, Me realizing what I wanted to do with my future and kind of just like learning a lot about myself And so I kind of ended up focusing a lot of my application around Thinking about like I know it sounds really simple just like literally volunteering a suicide hotline But I kind of kind of centered around like a lot of my passion around that and so I talked a lot about um writing about mental health and and kind of Uh the importance of words and mental health, um of language, you know, those kinds of things and mental health advocacy um Um, so that was kind of like how I think of like, like having like a theme that kind of focuses your application that really highlights what your passion is and kind of pinpoint specifically where you can go forward with it.

So, for me, that was working with language specifically and thinking about, um, like the cognitive developmental changes and kids who were in abusive households.

Anesha: And I, yes, so that is very specific. I should project. Uh, you know, I have a student. I had a student who created who is interested in engineering and he did his own homemade submarine and kind of wrote one of his essays about like clearly a small one, not like a huge, um, but you know, I wrote his, one of his essays about that, that journey of what it was like and trying it out, learning how to solder and things like that.

I have some other students who are working on art murals and even though they’re not interested in art, this is a way of like, this is their creative outlet, something they want to do for their community. So a passion project is something. I’m another student who is creating a, who created a cancer awareness club, another student who created a Muslim Students Association.

So it’s something that you can do, um, that, and I think all the theme around most of those things is having an impact within your community, but that is just an opportunity to kind of, um, dive deeper into an interest of yours in a thoughtful way, um, and can be a useful essay or can be, you know, a project that you leave behind as a legacy.

Another student, you were talking about mental health and I felt like this came up timely. So would you recommend taking a mental health a day, like a stress free day, even though it might not help you on the day? So I guess, you know, how, how would you recommend if you have any tips for when folks are feeling overwhelmed, managing their stress and maybe taking a day off or a day away?

Katie: I think it’s absolutely very important to take a day off. In fact, today is one of my half days off in my current study schedule. So I’m, I’m. Planning it. We’re told to plan it as medical students. Clearly something that I want to pass on to all the younger generations. I think something important and this is probably talked about on TikTok a lot nowadays, too, but like when you are taking an off day or recharge day, you need to figure out, like, make sure you’re actually recharging, making sure that you’re not spending that time worrying about the fact that you’re not doing work.

Um, take some time to figure out, like, what will actually give you that energy back and doing that on your off day so that, you know, you’re You could actually feel like you had a relaxing day.

Anesha: Uh, and I think for that student, there was like, would you recommend pick your day wisely, you know, definitely don’t pick your, your mental, your stress free day on the day when you have a lot of exams or things like that, try to be strategic, plan it out in advance.

Um, so you should definitely take it, but you do have to be thoughtful about when you take it, um, in order to not kind of create new work for yourself down the line, um, or new stresses for yourself down the line by missing something. Um, this is an interesting question that I think kind of goes along with like mental health checking in motivation, but where do you find the energy to do your very best every day at school?

Katie: That is a great question. Question and I think, yeah, to do my very best. Okay. Some days I feel like I’m falling short of of doing like what I wanted to do. I can say that like yesterday, for example, I wanted to do X amount of questions and I got like half of those done. And so I think part of it is.

Sitting yourself up for success, I think, is like, is a huge part of it. So like, knowing that you, even if you didn’t fulfill what you wanted to do in one day, making sure that you feel pumped up and ready to try to get your next task completed for the next day, for example. So having one bad day does not mean you have to have a bad week, I guess is what I’m trying to say.

because that, you know, sometimes it’s like you, you just got to stay on top of things. And that’s the way I think of it. So allowing yourself, like I had a bad day. That’s okay. It’s fine. Um, and then how are you going to bounce back from that? I think that’s part of how I think about it. Um, is that the question?

I don’t know if I answered the question, but

Anesha: no, I, yeah. I mean, I think it’s just, what do you, how do you, I think it goes to the motivation thing of how do you get yourself focused? How do you stay amped? How do you just try your best every day? And I think it is, um, planning your day. I think a lot of the tips you you’ve shared that’s why I kind of come into it.

And so. into that specific response as well of just like setting aside time in your day, taking time away from work, um, doing things that are emotionally challenging for you or intellectually challenging and interesting for you. Um, okay. I’m thinking about what our last question would be. I feel like that was a good last question, but we have a little bit more time left.

Um, so let’s see, let’s see, let’s see.

Katie: I will say, sorry, going back to that, like keeping, um, like your ultimate goal in mind. So like, for me, I know, like, I want to be. a psychiatrist, and that lifestyle, and I can imagine what that’s like, and I’m so close, and I’m almost there, and so really staying with that feeling, and like, what is it that you really want to get out of all of this, kind of this journey?

Anesha: Yeah, I think, well, you know, coming down with time, I think we’ll end it on that note of like, I think the best way to get your GPA at the place that you want it to be at is to stay focused on your long term goals and to keep your eye on the prize and then integrating some of the strategies, the tips that we talked about today for balancing that time, asking for help, um, and really being critical about it.

Thank you. And self reflective about what it is you want to achieve in the long run and how to maintain balance and plan for that. And also giving yourself some grace. Some of these questions are very like, high stress and I think some of y’all stress about things you don’t need to stress about, um, like your in depth classes.

So, um, give yourself a little bit of grace. Give yourself a little bit of, um, Um, room and, um, yeah, then we’ll leave it there. But, um, thanks everyone for joining us. We’re so appreciative. Thank you, Katie, for your time and your thoughts today. Yes, the session will be recorded. The recording will be sent to you via email that you use to register for today’s session.

And we also hope that you’ll join us for our future sessions coming up this month. So, on March 8th, we will talk about, there are some questions about pre med prep. So, on March 8th, we’ll be talking about building your colleges for pre med such as BSMD. Is that you? I think I might be with that one with you on that one as well.

Um, and on March 13th, we’ll share some strategies for essay brainstorming. There were some questions at the end are regarding what topics we use for essay. So we’ll come back and join us on March 13th and we’ll talk about that. Um, but we hope to see everybody soon. Until then, take care and have a great evening and thanks again, Katie.